OperaSmarts, led by educator Deborah McQueen (MA in Music, member of Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC), National Association of Music Educators, The American College of Musicians, The National Guild of Piano Teachers, Theatre Bay Area, and Early Childhood Music and Movement Association (ECMMA)), is a program that introduces three-to-nine year-old children to the splendors and intricacies of opera. Based on the knowledge that children respond to and easily absorb the music and dialogue of popular child-centered entertainment, OperaSmarts offers an alternative with material that is equally exciting and engrossing. The program incorporates music, visual art, singing, and more into one comprehensive and thorough curriculum that employs a play-based format. Children happily assimilate each lesson, and are guaranteed to gain an understanding of the elements of opera. Using a number of teaching methods that communicate learning through play, Ms. McQueen directs the children in mounting their own production of a well-known opera or play. With gentle guidance, the children not only learn, but do all the elements of opera production including direction, set design, staging, singing, and more. The program culminates in a performance given by the children.

Watch the Behind The Scenes of OperaSmarts video.